EN
Forty ostriches were raised in five groups [control (C) or with 4% (L4) or 8% (L8) linseed, or 5% (R5) or 10% (R10) rapeseed in the diet]. Linseed supplementation (L4 and L8) improved the nutritive value of the ostrich meat by increasing (P<0.001) the α-linolenic acid content (>4.2%FAtotal) and PUFA/SFA ratio (>1.0) as compared with the control group (1.7% FAtotal and <0.94, α-linolenic acid and PUFA/SFA, respectively), whereas the effect of rapeseed was lower (2.2%, and <0.99, α-linolenic acid and PUFA/SFA, respectively). Dietary treatment lowered (P<0.001) the n-6/n-3 ratio from ca. 11 in the C group to 4 in the L8 and L4 groups. Overall, the results indicate that inclusion of linseed into ostrich diets has a positive effect on the fatty acid composition, allowing the production of meat enriched with n-3 fatty acids